Following Script, Nets Have Unhappy Ending

By CLIFTON BROWN, Special to the New York Times

Published: February 10, 1989

LANDOVER, Md., Feb. 9—
The Nets' habit of losing leads has been the most disappointing aspect of their difficult season.

It happened again tonight. The Nets were leading the Washington Bullets, 82-71, with 3 minutes 31 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Joe Barry Carroll, the Nets' center, had 18 points and appeared headed for one of his best games of the season. And a victory would have been the Nets' 19th, equaling their total of last season.

But then Washington went to a 1-3-1 halfcourt press late and the Nets folded. They made bad passes. They lost their aggressiveness. Carroll rarely saw the ball the rest of the game. And instead of going into the All-Star Game break on a positive note, New Jersey dropped a 110-103 decision to the Bullets, another game the Nets (18-29) knew they should have won. When will things change? ''I don't know,'' said Roy Hinson, the Net forward. ''Our passes weren't smart. I thought we had seen enough presses to handle this one better by now, but obviously we haven't. Keeping leads is still a problem for us, a major problem. That's been the story all year.''

After falling behind by 11 points, Washington went on a 19-2 run to go ahead, 90-84, with 8:50 remaining in the game. The Nets never got closer than 3 points thereafter.

Washington (17-28) doesn't have as much talent as most National Basketball Association teams, but few teams play harder. Buoyed by Nets' turnovers and hurried shots, the Bullets pieced together enough offense to win. Jeff Malone, with 23 points, led 6 Bullets in double figures. pick up only add nets Certainly, John Bagley's absence was a contributing factor in the Nets' inability to handle Washington's defense. Bagley, the backup point guard, is on the injured list with a severely sprained left ankle. Lester Conner, the starting point guard, was forced to play 43 grueling minutes. Carroll led New Jersey's scorers with 21 points. Reed Is Not Happy

But Willis Reed, New Jersey's coach, was in no mood to hear excuses. He said the Nets were prepared for the press, but were still flustered by it. He was also disturbed that New Jersey was outrebounded, 47-42, by a team that gives up height to the Nets at almost every position.

''We showed no composure at all,'' Reed said. ''Everybody in the league runs the 1-3-1 press. I didn't think the press was that good. Bagley not being here may have hurt, but it wasn't just Lester who made mistakes handling the basketball.

''Everybody made mistakes, we didn't get back on defense and we didn't get back. No game is there for the taking until you win it.''

There was a near-fight late in the second quarter between Hinson and Bernard King of Washington. The altercation began when King was called for an offensive foul for shoving Mike McGee. King and McGee began arguing, and when Hinson walked toward them, King started arguing with Hinson, too. King made two quick shoves at Hinson, Hinson rushed after King, and players on both sides moved quickly to restrain them. Both King and Hinson were given technical fouls.

''I got upset when King took a swing at Mike,'' Hinson said. ''I grabbed King and he told me not to grab him. He kept talking and the more I thought about it, the more it ticked me off.''

But the disagreement didn't bother Hinson nearly as much as losing the game did.

''I don't even want to see a basketball game this weekend,'' Hinson said. ''I'm going to use this weekend to clear my head. I don't know if the break will help everybody else, but it will help me. It has been a tough year.''